Scorpion Venom Antimicrobial Peptides Induce Siderophore Biosynthesis and Oxidative Stress Responses in Escherichia coli

Abstract

The development of life-threatening resistance of pathogenic bacteria to the antibiotics typically in use in hospitals and the community today has led to an urgent need to discover novel antimicrobial agents with different mechanisms of action. As an ancient host defense mechanism of the innate immune system, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are attractive candidates to fill that role.